Christmas in the City II

by Samantha Chase

  Shaking my head at the goings on, I went back to enjoying my lazy Sunday. I grabbed a blanket and pillow from the hall closet. I got a couple bottles of soda and a glass of ice before settling down into the couch and finding a movie to watch.

  It didn’t take me long to find something that I liked, honestly, it was harder to find something I didn’t. I finally settled on an action movie I’d seen so many times before that I could recite the entire movie word for word. Two hours and twenty-three minutes later, I was starving.

  Pulling out the stack of takeout menus from the coffee table, I flipped through before finally stumbling across the Chinese menu. After making my decision and calling in a pretty big order, I started another movie while I waited. At some point, I must have fallen asleep. I awoke to the sound of knocking at the door which caused me to scramble to get my wallet to pay the delivery man. When I opened the door I was presented with two bags, more than what I had ordered.

  “I’m sorry, this isn’t mine.”

  “Emmeline Billings?”

  “That’s me, but…”

  “This is all your food,” He said before thrusting the bags in my face.

  “This has to be a mistake,” I said as I grabbed the bags from the delivery guy and he started to walk off.

  “Wait, I didn’t pay you.”

  “It’s paid for.”

  “At least let me give you a tip.”

  “Covered!” He yelled before slipping into his car and speeding off.

  “What the fuck just happened?”

  I shut and locked the door, placing the bags on the hall table and then looked at myself in the mirror. Did I look off? He looked scared shitless.

  “I ought to call them back and tell him how rude he was.”

  “I wouldn’t do that, Linnie,” A voice called out close by causing me to jump and knock into the table.

  Turning towards the offender’s voice, I was seething. “How did you get in my house?”

  “Door.”

  “Don’t be a dick, how the fuck did you get in my house?”

  “Enough with the name calling, I came in through the door,” He pointed behind me to the door. “When I came in, you were asleep.”

  “So you’ve resorted to breaking and entering.”

  “Door was unlocked.”

  “That’s bullshit, I never leave that door unlocked.”

  “Well it was, and I came in.”

  “Then you can leave.”

  “Nope, I’m here for lunch. There is some chicken chow mein in there with my

  name on it.”

  “I didn’t order…” Then the realization hit me. “All this extra food, the reason why I didn’t have to pay. You did this, you hijacked my order?”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes. So, if I could have my lunch please?”

  I shook my head; I didn’t understand what was going on. “What do you want?”

  “Lunch first, and if you’re a good girl I’ll answer your questions.”

  “That won’t work for me.”

  “It’s either that or nothing, take it or leave it,” He said with a cocky grin.

  “Take the food, I’d rather go without. Please see yourself out,” I turned slightly and started walking towards the kitchen area. I couldn’t let him win. Placing my head in my hands, I leaned against the counter and just prayed this was all a dream.

  It wasn’t until a few minutes later I heard the front door click shut. I went to investigate only to find the mystery man had left my house. I hurried to the front door and threw the bolt and latched the chain. Peeking out the peephole, I double checked to make sure he wasn’t out there. When I turned back around I realized that the Chinese food bags were gone.

  “Dick!” I yelled out even stomping my foot slightly.

  I headed back into the living room and was shocked to see what he’d done. Spread out along the coffee table was my food order, complete with drinks. However, it was one part that threw me for a loop, the shoes I had discarded in haste last night were now sitting on the floor next to my couch.

  “Who in the hell is this guy?” I whispered out to no one before plopping down in my seat.

  I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I ate the food that was left for me. I was starving, I was starving and my mind was trying to rationalize the past two days’ events. I know that I should call the police, but what do I tell them. He was at my cousin's wedding, he eavesdropped while hiding in shadows. He was in my house and ordered extra food onto my order but he paid and left a tip. He hasn’t threatened me; he hasn’t even tried to touch me. All he’s done is say he’s always been there and will be there and he knew to call me Linnie.

  That knowledge right there is conflicting, no one outside of my parents knew that name but this stranger did.

  I needed to know more, no I didn’t need to know more. I demanded to know more.

  Suddenly I wasn’t hungry anymore, now I wanted answers and if he said that he’s always watching then I’m going to put him to the test. I packed up all the leftovers and stored them in the fridge. I slipped on a pair of tennis shoes and a hoodie before stepping outside on my porch.

  “Hey, mystery man,” I called out from the steps, luckily for me, my closest neighbors seemed to have gone inside. “You claim you’re always there, well where are you? I have questions and I’m not asking for answers I’m demanding them. So either you show your face or leave me the fuck alone, once and for all.”

  After making my declaration, I stood there waiting. Time slipped by and nothing, not even a sound could be heard in the distance and I needed to just let it go.”

  “Thought so, liar.”

  Turning to walk back inside, I was almost over the threshold when a horn honked. I looked over my shoulder at a black sedan sitting directly in front of my house. The door opened and out climbed the mystery man and he was smiling at me, as soon as the door closed the car took off. I watched in shock as the man walked down my sidewalk and up the porch steps before standing next to me holding the door open.

  “Ladies first.” He said and I nodded before walking into the house.

  It was if something else was carrying me to the living room area, I took the spot I sat in when I ate my food.

  Mystery man pulled the old rocking chair from the corner and sat down on it, his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped before him.

  “Why do you call me Linnie?” I asked, not looking at him. I just needed to hear the words.

  “I heard your parents call you that.”

  “How did you hear my parents call me that? They’ve been gone for seven years.”

  “I know; I was at your parent’s funeral. Your parents and mine were good friends, when we lived here you were over at my house all the time.”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “I didn’t think you would. You were about eight, I was an older brooding teen who didn’t want to be bothered.”

  “Then why are you here now?”

  “I’m here because my Dad made a promise to your Grandpa.”

  “Grandpa? He’s d- “

  “Yes, I know. Ellis knew his time was coming close, he wanted motions put into play after he was gone. He knew that your Aunts and Uncles were shit and they’d use you. Well, I wish he could see you now because he’d see that you can take care of yourself in spite of those fools.”

  “They never liked me.”

  “I know that too, it’s because you got everything they wanted.”

  “What do you mean? I didn’t get anything.”

  “Yeah, you got the buildings on Elmhurst. You own that whole five block radius of warehouse space. Everything your building is connected to is all yours.”

  “I thought I just had the gallery and the event spaces.”

  “No, all those other places rent from you. Goes into a trust, which just transferred into your name when you turned twenty-five.”

  “I didn
’t know.”

  “I know that too, you see your Uncle Edgar he went to Ellis’ attorney and said that you knowing about all of this would be too much for you to handle. I also know that he’s obtained fake identification as well as a mistress that sort of resembles you. He’s been siphoning money little by little from your account.”

  “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  He stayed quiet for a minute and I figured it out. This was no joke, this was real, my family was stealing from me. “Bastards!”

  “Hey, don’t worry about a thing. We’re going to take care of it.”

  “Who is we?”

  Instead of answering my question, he just winked. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Why are you being so cryptic?”

  “Listen, Emmeline, in my business, you don’t lay all your cards on the table. You have to find out the game everyone else is playing before you make your move.”

  “I’m not playing any games here; I don’t even know your name.”

  “Ash.”

  “Pardon?”

  “Ash, my name is Ash.”

  I was trying to absorb what Ash was saying to me. I couldn’t even process the things he was relaying. I just sat there, hoping that something would come to me. Hoping that I could come up with a question that would finally shift all the pieces together.

  Before I could even say a word, Ash’s phone began to ring.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” He said and I nodded.

  When he walked away I finally let go of that breath I was holding and suddenly felt really hungry.

  “Okay, I’ll see you in two. Later.” He said as he walked back into the living room. “I have to go.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll be around.”

  “Okay,” I said again, but with emphasis. I got up and walked out of the room past him heading for the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Look, I know you want to talk but this is important.”

  I was pissed, I turned and looked at him. “What do you want me to do, cry? Get all emotional and girly and say ‘please don’t leave me’ sorry to burst your bubble but I’m not going to say anything for you to stay.”

  “Emme…”

  “No, please go. You’ve laid a lot of things on my plate and I can barely understand what’s going on so let’s leave on that note, Ash.”

  A car horn honked from outside and Ash shifted. “FUCK!” He yelled and before I knew it my back was flat up against my stainless steel fridge and Ash’s lips were on mine as his tongue pressing into my mouth. I’d like to say it was a lapse in judgment, a moment of weakness but honestly, I was horny and he’s so fucking hot that I was practically humping his leg for the friction alone.

  Ash broke the kiss, stared me straight in my eyes and apologized. I closed my eyes trying to fight back the tears I knew were going to flow at any moment. As soon as I heard the door click shut the tears burst through.

  I didn’t know why this was affecting me so much or why it worried me but I was going to find out.

  Chapter Three

  I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock blaring a Christmas carol, despite the words that Bing Crosby was singing is sure didn’t look like Christmas to me. Yet another day with me not in the spirit, bah humbug and all that jazz. I would get through it, in my own time of course but I would essentially get through it.

  Making my way into the bathroom, I had deep purple circles under both eyes. Clearly, from not getting any sleep last night, my mind had remained on Ash and the things he said. Not to mention the kiss that he laid on me last night that I kept replaying over and over. If I hadn’t of been so wired up last night I probably could have masturbated to just the kiss and the possibilities that came with it.

  I wanted to know who he was, I wanted to know about the secrets he possessed. I want to know how he gets a phone call one minute and the next there is someone outside of the house beeping for him.

  More importantly, I wanted to know why he’s always around. Pushing all of that out of my mind I started on my morning routine. While getting myself ready for work I mentally went over my calendar, I didn’t have much for this week, I always shut down for three weeks prior and after the holidays. The only thing I did know is that I have is a huge showing at my gallery for one of my favorite artists.

  Once I was fully dressed, I grabbed my things and headed for my car not looking forward to my twenty-minute commute. When I pulled out onto the main road, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked around inside of my car and in all the mirrors to see if there happened to be a car tailing me. My paranoia is running rampant. I know that I’m working myself up for nothing but I just felt a little uneasy. When I got to my building, I felt relieved as the feeling I was having had dissipated. I walked with an extra pep in my step inside the building while determined to make today a wonderful one, no matter what.

  “Good Morning, Ms. Billings,” I looked up to see Phyllis my gallery manager standing by the check-in desk.

  “Good Morning, Phyllis and none of that Ms. Billings now. Please call me Emmeline or Emme,” I chuckled.

  “Yes, of course Emmeline,” She smiled.

  “Did I get any calls?”

  I watched as Phyllis shuffled over to pick something up off the desk and she started to read it. “Yes, I received a call from Dominque McGill from Perceptions Event Planners. They have three dates after the new year they want to schedule dates to be held here. Two are for the main ballroom and one in the gallery,”

  I nodded, I liked Dominique, ever since she split from her previous employer her business was booming and she liked my spaces and so did her clients.

  “Sounds good, anything else?”

  “I received a call from Sharrod Walker's people. He’s ready to show his newest collection. He would like to reserve the week of Valentine's day to promote his ‘where is the love collection’.”

  “Well,” I smiled. “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting,” I chuckled slightly.

  “Send them the same contract as before also see if he’s willing to give me a personal preview of the collection before it shows. I would love to do some consignment on his pieces if he’s interested in doing that this time around. I have several buyers who are looking for more of his work and are willing to pay way above their value to own them.”

  “I’ll go call them right now and get the ball rolling,” Phyllis responded before picking up the phone to begin dialing.

  “I’ll be back in a few after I put my things in my office. I have an idea, I think I want to switch up the layout and move the rooms. I want this week’s showing to be in the further room so people will get to see the rest of the work instead of sneaking off to look at it.”

  Phyllis nodded and I continued my walk down the hall to my office. I was excited about the events we had coming up and the showing in February. We were becoming more and more popular as the months passed. When I had decided to change part of my space into event rooms and a gallery, my uncle was steadfast in his stance and relayed to me that doing it would be a stupid idea and a bad decision.

  He’d actually asked me to let him handle control of the property so that he could find the best businesses to earn the most revenue. I can still hear his voice telling me I didn’t ever have to work, that I could just vacation in Europe or party with my friends and I’d still have money coming in. I was insulted because that was never me, I’ve never had a desire to visit Europe and I surely never partied.

  I was adamant about what I wanted, while my decision made those veins pop out of his forehead and neck I wasn’t going to change my mind. I loved art, I remember the first time my parents had taken me to the MOMA and I instantly fell in love with the beauty created by the talented artists. I was thirteen when I fell in love with a specific painting, Improvisation Dreamy by Kandinsky. I had received a frame reproduction of that later that year
for my birthday. I cherished that painting and it hung proudly on a wall in my bedroom until my parents passed away.

  Somehow, it got ripped down the middle after it had been knocked to the ground sometime after the funeral. I suspected Chantalle, she has always denied any wrongdoing. I never had the heart to get rid of the painting, I just couldn’t bring myself to replace the one that I had come to cherish all those years ago. I still had the damaged one, it was wrapped up and tucked away in my closet for safe keeping. I felt the need to keep it like my parents were still with me.

  I gave myself a few minutes to collect my thoughts before I headed back to the gallery to start work on the changes.

  “Oh, here she is. Emmeline, this man has a delivery for you.”

  “Thank you, Phyllis.”

  The man looked at me, his eyes seemed to soften and his mouth turned slowly into a grin. “Good morning, how can I help you?”

  “Ms. Billings?” He questioned.

  “Yes, I’m Emmeline Billings.”

  He smiled and nodded before reaching out a hand that contained what looked like an envelope. “This is for you.”

  “Thank you,” I said, taking the envelope and reading the note inside.

  Emmeline,

  Please accept this gift as a token of my gratitude. I know that you’re not going to want it but it’s time for you to open yourself up again.

  I will explain more later tonight.

  Sebastian

  Sebastian? Who in the world is Sebastian, I read the note again and then it finally clicked. Ash, Ash’s real name is Sebastian.